For the first time in the history of modern Jesus research Per Bilde aims his scholarly interest at the originality of the historical Jesus. Accordingly he examines the historical Jesus and 14 contemporary Jewish Palestinian figures who, in one or more respects, can be argued to be comparable to Jesus. He comes to the conclusion that Jesus can be regarded as similar to a number of these figures, however, some more than others, and that he appears to be unique in some other respects.

Jesus and the Metaphors of God is the second of a richly significant three-volume study of the Jewish origins of Christianity and their relevance to Christian identity today. In Volume 1, The Galilean Jewishness of Jesus, Lee explores the Galilean Jewish character of Jesus and of Christian beginnings. Jesus and the Metaphor of God, Volume 2, explores the layers of God-meanings in the New Testament as they are found encoded in several major metaphors: Ruach/Spirit; Dabhar/Word; Sophia/Wisdom; Logos/Word. Whenever God-meanings shift, explains Lee, so does the christological meaning of Jesus as the Christ of God. Jesus and the Metaphors of God is a ground-breaking study of these multiple layers of God-meanings and an important contribution to understanding how culturally conditioned metaphors function throughout the Christian scriptures. This truly significant work makes a well-argued and distinctive contribution to the theology of the New Testament and the Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Should the dissimilarity between Jesus and early Christianity or between Jesus and Judaism be the central criteria for the historical Jesus? Gerd Theissen and Dagmar Winter argue that the criterion of dissimilarity does not do justice to the single most important result of more than two-hundred years of Jesus research: that the historical Jesus belongs to both Judaism and Christianity. The two authors propose a criterion of historical plausibility so that historical phenomenon under question can be considered authentic so long as it can be plausibly understood in its Jewish context and also facilitates a plausible explanation for its later effects in Christian history. This book is a cooperative project between Dagmar Winter and Gerd Theissen and represents the fruit of many years of their research on the historical Jesus.

Bible What does current New Testament research have to say to people today? Daniel Harrington and Christopher Matthews present these essays of contemporary scholarship on Jesus as we know him through the scriptures. This timely collection invites the reader into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Book jacket.

The timeless message of the New Testament applies to people of every culture and generation. Yet there is great value in understanding the world in which that message was first revealed - its social manners, politics, religious customs, and culture. Exploring the New Testament World, written by classics and Bible scholar Dr. Albert A. Bell, Jr., illuminates the living context of the New Testament, immersing its readers in the intriguing world of Jesus and the early church. An authority on ancient Greek and Roman language, culture, and history, Dr. Bell writes in a readable style that is accessible and enjoyable to any reader - an uncommon accomplishment among New Testament scholars today. Surveying Jewish factions of the era, the social and political structure of the Roman Empire, and the philosophies and religions that surrounded the early church, Dr. Bell helps his readers learn to think like first-century Jews, Greeks, and Romans, illuminating puzzling New Testament passages for clear understanding. Comprehensive Scripture and Subject Indexes make this volume even more useful as a "manners and customs" Bible companion. This authoritative guide receives high praise from college professors and Sunday school teachers alike, proving its appeal to both popular and academic audiences. A "must-have" reference for every pastor and an indispensable resource to any Bible reader.

In the The Misunderstood Jew, scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps Christians and Jews understand the "Jewishness" of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place. Levine's humor and informed truth-telling provokes honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.

The theological reflections of Virgilio Elizondo and Gustavo Gutierrez are examples of the ecclesial fruitfulness of the second half of the twentieth century. Following the directives of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, Elizondo and Gutierrez present the Gospel message in relevant terms to their own people by engaging the world as the Church of the poor. Inspired by this moment in Church history, while at the same time recognizing the plight of their people in their poor and marginal existence, Elizondo and Gutierrez discovered a new way of doing theology by asking a specific set of questions based on their local context. By investigating where God is present in the border crossers of the southwestern United States and the poorest of the poor in Latin America, both theologians have uncovered a hermeneutical lens in rereading Scripture and deepening our understanding of ecclesial tradition. Elizondo's mestizaje and Gutierrez's preferential option for the poor arose out of a theology of context, a theological method that takes seriously the contextual circumstances of their locale. By utilizing the common loci theologici of Scripture and tradition in conjunction with context and their own experience, Elizondo and Gutierrez illustrate through their theologies how every group must embrace their own unique theological reflection.

In June 2000, five internationally renowned biblical scholars and one equally well known systematic theologian traveled to Israel with 60 non-academic pilgrims to share their insights on the Jesus of history and the meaning of the "historians' Jesus" for Christian faith. The result is a book that provides a succinct summary of what is currently known about Jesus and his times-his setting in Galilee, his relationship to the Qumran community, his sense of mission as an eschatological prophet and miracle worker, and, finally, the mechanics of how the memories of Jesus's words and deeds circulated among his followers and were passed on in oral performance to be enshrined eventually in the written Synoptic tradition. The book concludes with reflections by Elizabeth Johnson on the relevance of such scholarship for contemporary Christian faith. Rather than a challenge to faith, she sees it as a gift.

Philip Kennedy here offers the first book that any student - with or without religious convictions - can profitably use to get quickly to grips with the essentials of the Christian religion: its history and its key thinkers, its successes and its failures. Most existing undergraduate textbooks of theology begin from essentially traditional positions on the Bible, doctrine, authority, interpretation, and God. What makes Philip Kennedy's book both singularly important and uniquely different is that it has a completely new starting-point. The author contends that traditional Christian theology must extensively overhaul many of its theses because of a multitude of modern social, historical and intellectual revolutions. Offering a grand historical sweep of the genesis of the modern age, and writing with panache and a magisterial grasp of the relevant debates, conflicts and controversies, A Modern Introduction to Theology moves a tired and increasingly incoherent discipline in genuinely fresh and exciting directions, and will be welcomed by students and readers of the subject.

In this study, Edwin K. Broadhead's purpose is to gather the ancient evidence of Jewish Christianity and to reconsider its impact. He begins his investigation with the hypothesis that groups in antiquity who were characterized by Jewish ways of following Jesus may be vastly underrepresented, misrepresented and undervalued in the ancient sources and in modern scholarship. Giving a critical analysis of the evidence, the author suggests that Jewish Christianity endured as an historical entity in a variety of places, in different times and in diverse modes. If this is true, a new religious map of antiquity is required. Moreover, the author offers a revised context for the history of development of both Judaism and Christianity and for their relationship.

The author speaks as a modern Christian theologian--not so much about Christ, but about the historical Jesus, or rather, Yeshua, that religious Jew who walked this earth almost two thousand years ago. Examines the "Jewishness" of Yeshua, looking at him through the refracting lenses of the Gospel and other helpful documents. Shows how Yeshua provides a model on how to live a full human life: taking on responsibility for the oppressed society, breaking through anti-feminine stereotypes and providing an androgynous model for all to follow.